John Lewis advert: the little boy with a box full of Christmas spirit

It is the £6m winsome tale carefully calculated to tug on every adult's
heartstrings. A young son counts down the days to Christmas only to rush
past his own presents so he can experience the joy of giving his parents
their gift.

With its Hollywood production values and immaculate editing, the 90 second John Lewis Christmas advert, which was officially launched on Friday, has already been everything its creators hoped for.

It trended on Twitter within hours of its launch, received 420,000 views on Youtube and left celebrities including Phillip Schofield and Cat Deeley in tears.

For many disbelieving parents, however, the child's altruism stretched credibility and bore little resemblence to their own children. "Emotionally manipulative adverts plaguing the telly," wrote one. "Must be Christmas"

But yesterday the parents of Lewis McGowan, the seven-year-old star of the advert from Hamilton near Glasgow, insisted their son is exactly like his on-screen character.

Last year he asked Father Christmas for a teacup for his mother and "the best Christmas ever". This year he wants an iPod to give to his brother.

Stuart McGowan, his father, said: "He is such a great wee boy. He is just like the boy in the advert- so kind and always thinking of others. He is just so natural in front of a camera.

“He and his big brother are always running about making films. I think that's why Lewis is so relaxed [in the advert] as he has spent years acting the part of a zombie,” said Mr McGowan.

His mother Julie said that Lewis, who was picked from 250 hopefuls, now wants to build on his newfound fame and become a star. He has already signed to an acting agency in Glasgow and is looking for an agent in London.

Meanwhile, Lewis’s mother revealed the answer to the question that has set the internet alight – what is in the box.

She said: "I told him to imagine he was getting me a nice present. I asked him what he thought that would be and he would giggle.

"He knows I love shoes and handbags and at the end of the advert when you see him smirk that because I'm shouting 'is it shoes, is it a handbag' in the background."

In a sign that it is not to everyone’s taste, the advert has also been parodied in numerous spoof versions on the internet.

One version has the music from horror film The Shining playing over the advert, while another plays dialogue from 1990s film Seven over it. The climax of Seven features a box – not dissimilar to the one in the advert – which contains a severed head.

Craig Inglis, marketing director at John Lewis, said that he was relieved and pleased that the advert has caused such a stir. He said that it is on track to be more popular than last year’s Christmas campaign, which received 439,000 YouTube hits in 11 months.

“It looks like it is going to be bigger than last year. There is a compound effect with our ads. They build a level of anticipation each year,” said Mr Inglis.